Which backup type stores every change since the last full backup, potentially using more storage than incremental but easier restore?

Which backup type stores every change since the last full backup, potentially using more storage than incremental but easier restore?

• A. Differential Backup
• B. Full Backup
• C. Incremental Backup
• D. Version Control

Answer: (A)

Differential backup is designed to capture all changes made since the last full backup. After the full backup is done, each differential includes every change that has occurred since that baseline, so its size grows with time until the next full backup resets the baseline. This is why it can use more storage than an incremental approach—because it keeps piling up all changes since the last full backup rather than just the most recent set. The upside is in restoration: you only need the last full backup plus the most recent differential to restore the data. You don’t have to assemble a chain of multiple backup sets, as you would with incremental backups, which makes the restore process simpler and faster. Full backups, by contrast, back up everything every time and require the most storage, but you restore in one step without dealing with a chain. Version control handles file history at the level of individual files rather than restoring a whole system state.

Differential backup is designed to capture all changes made since the last full backup. After the full backup is done, each differential includes every change that has occurred since that baseline, so its size grows with time until the next full backup resets the baseline. This is why it can use more storage than an incremental approach—because it keeps piling up all changes since the last full backup rather than just the most recent set.

The upside is in restoration: you only need the last full backup plus the most recent differential to restore the data. You don’t have to assemble a chain of multiple backup sets, as you would with incremental backups, which makes the restore process simpler and faster.

Full backups, by contrast, back up everything every time and require the most storage, but you restore in one step without dealing with a chain. Version control handles file history at the level of individual files rather than restoring a whole system state.